> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.segmnt.cloud/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quickstart: play one protected video > In one sitting, sign up, upload a video, wait until it is ready, create a playback token, embed the video, and prove it is locked to your domain. This is a tutorial. Follow it from top to bottom and you will end with a protected video playing on your own domain, and proof that a copied link returns `403`. It takes about 10 minutes. You need one thing first: a website or test page whose domain you control, for example `courses.example.com`. > Want the reference instead of a lesson? See [Set up your first project](/getting-started) > and [Direct upload](/direct-upload). ## Step 1: Sign in 1. Open [https://app.segmnt.cloud](https://app.segmnt.cloud). 2. Pick **Google** or **GitHub**. We create your free account on this first sign-in. There is no password and no card. ## Step 2: Create a project A project is one site, one client or one product. A free account has one project. In the dashboard, open **Projects** → **New project**, and give it a name. Keep the project id (`prj_...`); the next steps use it. ## Step 3: Verify your domain Playback is locked to a domain, so add the host that will show the video. 1. Open the project → **Domains** → **Add domain**. 2. Enter the exact host, for example `courses.example.com`. A subdomain is its own domain: add `www.courses.example.com` separately if you use it. 3. Copy the TXT record we show you, and add it at your DNS provider. 4. Click **Verify**. The status becomes **Verified** when the record is found. Full detail: [Accounts, projects, API keys and domains](/accounts-and-projects). ## Step 4: Create an API key 1. Open the project → **API keys** → **Create key**. 2. Name it, and copy the secret (`sk_...`). We show it once. Keep this key on your **server**. Never put it in a page. ## Step 5: Upload a video The fastest path is the dashboard: open the project, click **Upload**, and pick a short MP4. To upload from your own code, use the four calls in [Direct upload](/direct-upload). They send the file straight to storage with a pre-signed URL, so the file never passes through the API. ## Step 6: Wait until the video is ready We encode the video after the upload ends. Poll the video until `status` is `ready`: ```bash theme={null} export BASE="https://api.segmnt.cloud" export SEGMNT_KEY="sk_..." # your API key (server only) export PROJECT_ID="prj_7kQ2mB" export VIDEO_ID="vid_9xR4tL" curl "$BASE/v1/projects/$PROJECT_ID/videos/$VIDEO_ID" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEGMNT_KEY" ``` Read `status` in the answer: | `status` | Meaning | | - | - | | `uploading` | The file is still going up. | | `processing` | We are encoding it. | | `ready` | It can play. Go to Step 7. | | `failed` | The encode failed. | > **Note — the review hold is Coming soon.** When the review hold is on, a free > account's first videos wait for review. Such a video can still report `ready`, > but the playback-token call in Step 7 is refused with `409 video_not_ready`. > If that happens, read [Moderation and held videos](/moderation). The hold is > off today, so a new free video is not held. ## Step 7: Create a playback token A **playback token** is a short, signed pass for one video on one domain. Create it on your server: ```bash theme={null} curl -X POST "$BASE/v1/projects/$PROJECT_ID/videos/$VIDEO_ID/playback-tokens" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEGMNT_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"domain":"courses.example.com"}' ``` The answer is `201` and holds `token`, `expiresAt` and `embedUrl`. Keep the `token` value: ```bash theme={null} export TOKEN="v1...." # the token from the answer above ``` A token lives for 4 hours by default. For a real page, ask for a new token each time you show the video, from your server. See [Create playback tokens on your server](/playback-tokens). ## Step 8: Embed the video Put this block on the page that you verified in Step 3. Replace `vid_9xR4tL` and the token with your own values: ```html theme={null}
``` Open your page. The video plays. That is your first protected video. ## Step 9: Prove it is locked to your domain Now try to use the video somewhere else. Ask for the video with a **different** origin — a site you did **not** verify: ```bash theme={null} curl -i "https://cdn.segmnt.cloud/v/$VIDEO_ID/master.m3u8?token=$TOKEN" \ -H "Origin: https://someone-elses-site.example" ``` The answer is `403` with the header `X-Segmnt-Error: domain_mismatch`. Ask with no token at all, and you get `403 token_missing`: ```bash theme={null} curl -i "https://cdn.segmnt.cloud/e/$VIDEO_ID" ``` The token is bound to your domain, so a copied link does not play anywhere else. This is the point of the product. Full detail: [How playback protection works](/playback-protection). ## What you built * A project with a verified domain and an API key. * A video that we encoded to HLS. * A signed playback token for one video and one domain. * An embed that plays on your domain, and `403` off it. ## Where to go next * [Embed a video on any website](/embed-a-video) — the iframe and JavaScript embeds. * [Create playback tokens on your server](/playback-tokens) — cURL, Node.js and PHP. * [Add segmnt to WordPress](/wordpress) — the plugin path. * [Direct upload](/direct-upload) — the full upload flow in three languages. * [Errors](/errors) — what `403` and `409` mean and how to react. * [Feature status](/status) — what is available, beta and coming soon. > Tested with the current release. The video events, tokens, domain lock and > embed are the released API. If a step does not work for you, tell us which > step and which answer you got. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.